Hannah followed quietly behind Liz on sturdy little legs.
"Mama." Hannah laid her head against her pant leg when they reached the stairs leading up to their apartment.
Liz looked down and smiled at her daughter. Hannah held her arms up for her mother to pick her up.
Liz frowned as she bent down to pick her up. Hannah's energy level had gone down the past few weeks.
"You ok?" Liz asked before setting her down on the ground in the apartment. Maria and Alex weren't home yet. They were out with their old roommate, Serena.
Instead of running off to find toys as she normally did, she stayed by Liz.
"What's wrong?" Liz looked down at her daughter.
She smiled and held her hands up.
Liz picked her up and went over to her chair to sit down.
"You wanna read a book?"
She shook her head no and just snuggled into Liz. Liz stroked her still curly hair. She was reluctant to cut it. It was only curly at the tips and when it was cut she knew it would be as straight as her own hair.
Liz picked up her own reading book and opened it up to where she was before.
Hannah sat quietly sucking her thumb while her mother read.
Sometime while she was reading Hannah slipped from Liz's lap and went to her diaper bag and retrieved a bottle.
Somewhere around eight months Hannah had found it a lot more enjoyable to be able to look around while eating so Liz had to switch to bottles.
"Where'd you get that?" Liz asked surprised when she crawled back into her lap, bottle tucked securely under her arm.
Hannah smiled and relaxed once again against Liz.
"Knock, knock, Liz. We're home." Maria called softly from the door.
"She's awake, Maria." Liz called.
"Aunt Mwia!" Hannah shouted.
"Hello, Hannah." Maria greeted back. "Liz. I would like you to meet our friend, Serena."
Liz stood up to greet the new girl. Hannah tossed her bottle behind the chair and followed Alex into the back.
"Hello." Liz smiled warmly.
"Hello." Serena greeted. She had a slight southern accent to it. The girl was taller than her and had strawberry blonde hair. Light freckles dusted across her nose and she had bright green eyes.
"That was my daughter, Hannah, she likes to be wherever Alex is." Liz chuckled.
"Yeah, I understand her feelings." Serena nodded. "He's a fun guy to be around."
"Hannah thinks so."
"You enjoy the apartment?" Serena asked.
"Yeah. What are you doing now?" Liz asked.
"I'm actually attending Berkeley so I had to move out of here. I'm glad you moved in."
"Liz?" Maria called from the kitchen. "Serena's gonna stay for dinner so I'm gonna go ahead and start?"
"Fine, Kyle's coming over too. He's gonna stop by before he has to go to work."
Serena froze. "Kyle?"
Maria walked into the front room. "Kyle and Serena don't exactly get along very well."
"Oh." Liz looked down. "Kyle can come over another night then."
"No, no, I think we can get along just fine. It'll only be an hour at the most. What time is he coming?"
"Any minute." Liz said when there was a knock on the door. "Come in."
Kyle opened the door. "Hey, Liz. Where's Hannah?"
"It's all about Hannah isn't it?" Liz put her hands on her hips. "She's in the back room with Alex."
Kyle's brows set. "With Alex?"
"With Alex." Liz affirmed before hugging him. Kyle had become a really close friend to Liz over the past few months. She was actually wondering if it was turning into a little something more.
Kyle hugged her back and held her a little longer than was necessary. He straightened and looked to the kitchen where Maria was mumbling to someone.
"What are you doing little sister?" He asked in French.
"Hello to you to, brother." She said back. "Why don't we go out into the front room for a while?" She said glancing over her shoulder.
"Why?" He asked before his eyes landed on Serena. He stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh."
He hung his head low and went to find Liz and Hannah.
"Maria, maybe I shouldn't be here." Serena said feeling uncomfortable. "I can eat somewhere else tonight and come back." She began to pick up her purse and gather her other things.
"No, stay, he'll leave in little more than an hour." Maria encouraged. "Just stay with me in the kitchen." Maria dragged her back.
"Fine."
"Tile!" Hannah said pleased at seeing Kyle.
"Hello, Han." Kyle bent down to scoop her up in his arms.
Kyle walked out to the front of the apartment where Liz was searching behind the couch for something.
"What are you doing?" He asked coming up behind her.
"Searching for her bottle. She threw it back here when she ran after Alex." She mumbled before pulling out a bottle.
Kyle mumbled something about it not being fair Alex got to see her more, and in result, liked him better
Hannah smiled when she saw the bottle in her mother's hands and reached for it.
Liz handed it to her daughter before kissing her forehead.
Kyle settled in the chair with Hannah facing the TV.
"She's not as hyper as she once was. Before she wouldn't have just smiled, we would have had to hear a lot of squeals and giggles." Kyle said.
"Yeah, I called the doctor about it. He wants to see her Thursday."
"You want me to go?" Kyle asked.
"Please? I think it's getting pretty close to surgery. I don't think the medicine is working well at all." Liz said quietly.
"It'll be ok." He reached across where they were sitting.
"I know." She said quietly comforted by his confidence in the doctors. "Thank you."
Serena watched quietly from the kitchen. Her heart ached at the sight of the three of them. Hannah so at ease, Liz so comforted, Kyle, so happy. Wiping away stray tears, she pushed herself away from their private moment to join Maria in the kitchen.
****
Max leafed through the law book frustrated, not able to find the right phase to put in his paper. "Max, you always work too hard." The sultry voice filled his ears.
"Hello, Tess." He greeted her not bothering to look up from his paper.
"Why don't you take a break, we go out for a while?" She asked.
"Can't, I have to finish this." He said.
"That's not due till next week." She told him.
"Yeah, I wanna finish it now so I can study."
"Come on, Max." She pouted. At last he looked up.
"Fine. Just for a few hours." He stood up reluctantly. For once forgetting about his schoolwork.
****
"Max Evans what is this?" Isabel stormed angrily into his room.
"Hmm?" He mumbled from under his pillow, he checked his alarm clock. It was the first class he had missed his whole college career.
"Get yourself out of that bed, right now!" She screeched.
"Isabel, hush." He said pulling himself into a sitting position.
"No, I will not, how could you do this to them? Tess Harding, Max?" She ranted. "Max, you know that girl's reputation."
"I know, I'm sorry, Is." He studied his hands.
"Sorry is not going to cut it. Max." She stomped her foot. "I'm all for you relaxing a bit, but remember, Max, you have a year old daughter out there somewhere. Waiting for you to come as her knight in shining armor." She slammed the door angrily.
Kicking himself, Max showers before heading back to his law books. On it, he found a note. "Dear Max," I reads, "I had a wonderful time last night, maybe we can do it again sometime." Right above where the letter was sitting, was a picture of little Hannah.
He hadn't gotten any more pictures. He had no idea what his daughter looked like.
Again, kicking himself, he finished his paper.
****
The dinner was quiet interrupted with Hannah's loud chatter. It wasn't non- stop as it had once been. Now she stopped to catch her breath before she started up again.
Kyle sat opposite Serena. Liz visibly felt the tension in the room. Alex tried to keep up a lively conversation with Maria's help.
"I have to go now." Kyle scooted up from the chair.
Liz followed him to the door. "Thank you for staying. I'll try not to let that happen again." Liz said at the door.
"It's ok, you didn't know." He leaned down and gave her a light peck on the lips before affectionately giving Hannah one on the top of her forehead.
"Bye, Tile!" She called after him.
"Bye, Hannah, Liz." He nodded. He looked across Liz's head at Serena. They exchanged silent words and he closed the door behind him.
"Mama." Hannah laid her head against her pant leg when they reached the stairs leading up to their apartment.
Liz looked down and smiled at her daughter. Hannah held her arms up for her mother to pick her up.
Liz frowned as she bent down to pick her up. Hannah's energy level had gone down the past few weeks.
"You ok?" Liz asked before setting her down on the ground in the apartment. Maria and Alex weren't home yet. They were out with their old roommate, Serena.
Instead of running off to find toys as she normally did, she stayed by Liz.
"What's wrong?" Liz looked down at her daughter.
She smiled and held her hands up.
Liz picked her up and went over to her chair to sit down.
"You wanna read a book?"
She shook her head no and just snuggled into Liz. Liz stroked her still curly hair. She was reluctant to cut it. It was only curly at the tips and when it was cut she knew it would be as straight as her own hair.
Liz picked up her own reading book and opened it up to where she was before.
Hannah sat quietly sucking her thumb while her mother read.
Sometime while she was reading Hannah slipped from Liz's lap and went to her diaper bag and retrieved a bottle.
Somewhere around eight months Hannah had found it a lot more enjoyable to be able to look around while eating so Liz had to switch to bottles.
"Where'd you get that?" Liz asked surprised when she crawled back into her lap, bottle tucked securely under her arm.
Hannah smiled and relaxed once again against Liz.
"Knock, knock, Liz. We're home." Maria called softly from the door.
"She's awake, Maria." Liz called.
"Aunt Mwia!" Hannah shouted.
"Hello, Hannah." Maria greeted back. "Liz. I would like you to meet our friend, Serena."
Liz stood up to greet the new girl. Hannah tossed her bottle behind the chair and followed Alex into the back.
"Hello." Liz smiled warmly.
"Hello." Serena greeted. She had a slight southern accent to it. The girl was taller than her and had strawberry blonde hair. Light freckles dusted across her nose and she had bright green eyes.
"That was my daughter, Hannah, she likes to be wherever Alex is." Liz chuckled.
"Yeah, I understand her feelings." Serena nodded. "He's a fun guy to be around."
"Hannah thinks so."
"You enjoy the apartment?" Serena asked.
"Yeah. What are you doing now?" Liz asked.
"I'm actually attending Berkeley so I had to move out of here. I'm glad you moved in."
"Liz?" Maria called from the kitchen. "Serena's gonna stay for dinner so I'm gonna go ahead and start?"
"Fine, Kyle's coming over too. He's gonna stop by before he has to go to work."
Serena froze. "Kyle?"
Maria walked into the front room. "Kyle and Serena don't exactly get along very well."
"Oh." Liz looked down. "Kyle can come over another night then."
"No, no, I think we can get along just fine. It'll only be an hour at the most. What time is he coming?"
"Any minute." Liz said when there was a knock on the door. "Come in."
Kyle opened the door. "Hey, Liz. Where's Hannah?"
"It's all about Hannah isn't it?" Liz put her hands on her hips. "She's in the back room with Alex."
Kyle's brows set. "With Alex?"
"With Alex." Liz affirmed before hugging him. Kyle had become a really close friend to Liz over the past few months. She was actually wondering if it was turning into a little something more.
Kyle hugged her back and held her a little longer than was necessary. He straightened and looked to the kitchen where Maria was mumbling to someone.
"What are you doing little sister?" He asked in French.
"Hello to you to, brother." She said back. "Why don't we go out into the front room for a while?" She said glancing over her shoulder.
"Why?" He asked before his eyes landed on Serena. He stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh."
He hung his head low and went to find Liz and Hannah.
"Maria, maybe I shouldn't be here." Serena said feeling uncomfortable. "I can eat somewhere else tonight and come back." She began to pick up her purse and gather her other things.
"No, stay, he'll leave in little more than an hour." Maria encouraged. "Just stay with me in the kitchen." Maria dragged her back.
"Fine."
"Tile!" Hannah said pleased at seeing Kyle.
"Hello, Han." Kyle bent down to scoop her up in his arms.
Kyle walked out to the front of the apartment where Liz was searching behind the couch for something.
"What are you doing?" He asked coming up behind her.
"Searching for her bottle. She threw it back here when she ran after Alex." She mumbled before pulling out a bottle.
Kyle mumbled something about it not being fair Alex got to see her more, and in result, liked him better
Hannah smiled when she saw the bottle in her mother's hands and reached for it.
Liz handed it to her daughter before kissing her forehead.
Kyle settled in the chair with Hannah facing the TV.
"She's not as hyper as she once was. Before she wouldn't have just smiled, we would have had to hear a lot of squeals and giggles." Kyle said.
"Yeah, I called the doctor about it. He wants to see her Thursday."
"You want me to go?" Kyle asked.
"Please? I think it's getting pretty close to surgery. I don't think the medicine is working well at all." Liz said quietly.
"It'll be ok." He reached across where they were sitting.
"I know." She said quietly comforted by his confidence in the doctors. "Thank you."
Serena watched quietly from the kitchen. Her heart ached at the sight of the three of them. Hannah so at ease, Liz so comforted, Kyle, so happy. Wiping away stray tears, she pushed herself away from their private moment to join Maria in the kitchen.
****
Max leafed through the law book frustrated, not able to find the right phase to put in his paper. "Max, you always work too hard." The sultry voice filled his ears.
"Hello, Tess." He greeted her not bothering to look up from his paper.
"Why don't you take a break, we go out for a while?" She asked.
"Can't, I have to finish this." He said.
"That's not due till next week." She told him.
"Yeah, I wanna finish it now so I can study."
"Come on, Max." She pouted. At last he looked up.
"Fine. Just for a few hours." He stood up reluctantly. For once forgetting about his schoolwork.
****
"Max Evans what is this?" Isabel stormed angrily into his room.
"Hmm?" He mumbled from under his pillow, he checked his alarm clock. It was the first class he had missed his whole college career.
"Get yourself out of that bed, right now!" She screeched.
"Isabel, hush." He said pulling himself into a sitting position.
"No, I will not, how could you do this to them? Tess Harding, Max?" She ranted. "Max, you know that girl's reputation."
"I know, I'm sorry, Is." He studied his hands.
"Sorry is not going to cut it. Max." She stomped her foot. "I'm all for you relaxing a bit, but remember, Max, you have a year old daughter out there somewhere. Waiting for you to come as her knight in shining armor." She slammed the door angrily.
Kicking himself, Max showers before heading back to his law books. On it, he found a note. "Dear Max," I reads, "I had a wonderful time last night, maybe we can do it again sometime." Right above where the letter was sitting, was a picture of little Hannah.
He hadn't gotten any more pictures. He had no idea what his daughter looked like.
Again, kicking himself, he finished his paper.
****
The dinner was quiet interrupted with Hannah's loud chatter. It wasn't non- stop as it had once been. Now she stopped to catch her breath before she started up again.
Kyle sat opposite Serena. Liz visibly felt the tension in the room. Alex tried to keep up a lively conversation with Maria's help.
"I have to go now." Kyle scooted up from the chair.
Liz followed him to the door. "Thank you for staying. I'll try not to let that happen again." Liz said at the door.
"It's ok, you didn't know." He leaned down and gave her a light peck on the lips before affectionately giving Hannah one on the top of her forehead.
"Bye, Tile!" She called after him.
"Bye, Hannah, Liz." He nodded. He looked across Liz's head at Serena. They exchanged silent words and he closed the door behind him.